Chef Spotlight: Fernanda Baggio

If you haven't checked out Fernanda Baggio's Spanish Paprika Busiate with Njuda & Burrata on our recipe page, pause here, click the link, and get ready to salivate. 

This culinary creation is the brainchild of, Fernanda Baggio, a Brazilian chef, who has an immeasurable passion for cooking – especially when it comes to pasta. Like many chefs, her love for food and cooking started in her childhood. “My grandmother's cooking fascinated me because it simply made people happy.  I wanted to be like her and to have that 'superpower' that made so many people happy,” says Fernanda. 

Busiate originates from the province of Trapani located in the western part of Sicily, far from the small town in Brazil called Mamborê where Fernanda was raised. But she was able to learn how to make this handmade pasta along with hundreds of other shapes as she pursued a culinary career. Along with establishing her food foundations at the Le Cordon Bleu in Canada, Fernanda herself was able to learn the world of pasta through her own study and practice. During the pandemic, Fernanda started her own pasta monthly subscription business called “All You Need is Pasta,” which allowed her to support herself and make connections that would pave the way for new opportunities. 

These new opportunities led her do reach her goal of working in a two-star Michelin restaurant called Acquerello in San Francisco where she now has been elevated to Sous Chef for Research and Development. Her knowledge and expertise in pasta brought a different perspective to the restaurant’s cuisine and it helped them receive the “Tre Forchette” award this year - the highest award given to a restaurant by Gambero Rosso, the Italian restaurant guide.

Pasta making is an inherently relaxing process according to Fernanda, but she says the Spicewalla Spanish Paprika gives the busiate such a bright orange color that it causes an exciting flutter in her heartrate. The process is a surprisingly simple one that will have you thinking about so many “pasta-bilities” when you learn a few tricks. 

To shape the busiate pasta, Italians use a skinny metal pasta rod called a “ferretto,” but you can just as easily use a bamboo skewer. On top of that, the dough you will make can be used to create dozens of other pasta shapes – like cavatelli and orecchiette – that require simple utensils you already have in your kitchen. 

Once the pasta comes together, you need some good partners to make the complete dish. Fernanda uses nduja, a spicy pork sausage that also hails from southern Italy, and some fresh burrata cheese. These two key ingredients bring a little heat and some creaminess that will have you going back for round two. 

To see more of Fernanda's beautiful, and incredibly tasty past creations, follow along with her endess "pasta-bilities" on her instagram. Let her know Spicewalla sent ya!